-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Serbia and France are tied at 1-1 after the first day of the Davis Cup final after sharing the opening singles rubbers in Belgrade .

Gael Monfils put France ahead with an emphatic 6-1 7-6 6-0 win over Janko Tipsarevic before Novak Djokovic brushed aside Gilles Simon 6-3 6-1 7-5 to level for the hosts .

Djokovic hit a blistering 62 winners for his sixth win out of six in singles ties for Serbia this year as they bid for their first Davis Cup title .

The world number three was always in command against Simon , who had been handed the second French singles berth in the place of the injured Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and to the roars of the capacity home crowd won in two hours 18 minutes .

`` Definitely it 's an advantage for the home team playing in front of their people . To be able to have this support is really relevant , '' Djokovic told the official Davis Cup website . .

Earlier , the in-form Monfils silenced a partisan home crowd by thrashing Janko Tipsarevic in the opening singles rubber on Friday .

Serbian tennis completes transformation

Speaking to France 3 TV , Monfils said : `` I got into the match straight away and that helped settle me .

`` I 'm really happy with the result . Janko started off with two double faults and straight away I saw that he was tense . That helped me to relax a little . ''

Tipsarevic has often been the hero for Serbia in Davis Cup over recent years , but he was subjected to booing from some of his own fans as he capitulated in a one-sided third set .

Saturday 's doubles rubber will see Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement of France take on Serbian duo Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki , but Djokovic could be drafted in at short notice to bolster the home team .

His match with world number 12 Monfils in Sunday 's reverse singles is also set to have a strong influence on the outcome .

@highlight

NEW : Novak Djokovic beats Gilles Simon in straight sets to level Davis Cup final at 1-1

@highlight

Gael Monfils thrashes Janko Tipsarevic in straight sets in the opening singles rubber

@highlight

Saturday sees doubles action with reverse singles on Sunday